A three-byline Fortune magazine story says a serious buyer is negotiating with Time Warner to buy its Time Inc. publishing division. “A meeting of the buyer’s representatives has been scheduled for today to discuss a potential deal, which is still in a formative stage and may never come to fruition,” Fortune reports.

In one scenario, most of the company’s publishing titles, such as People, InStyle, and Real Simple, would be carved out and rolled into an independent company and sold to the undisclosed buyer. Under this plan, Time Warner (TWX) would maintain control of at least three titles — Time, Sports Illustrated, and Fortune — according to the sources.